Salad Caprese, JPaulz, Charleston, S.C.
My sisters keep changing their names.
I'm one of eight kids, you know that. My ever practical parents didn't waste middle names on daughters. It was assumed that if and when we married we could simply take Perry as a middle name. My brothers got elaborate family names - James Murray, Robert Stewart, Roger Cameron Perry carrying on long lines of Scottish and Canadian ancestors.
I've been Joan Perry since I was born.
They didn't count on a lot of things. They took five daughters and three sons and raised us in one of the few matralineal societies in the world. In the Khasi tribe of North East India women own the property, the youngest daughter inherits and the children carry the mother's name. With that background it didn't make any sense to me to change my name when I got married. Besides a brief period when I was eleven and told everyone my name was Josephine (Little Women) I've been content with my short and simple name.
My sisters started doing odd things when they turned fifty. Grace added a "y" and announced she was now Grayce. Barbara started signing her name Barbra Rose. Third in line, I've let the team down. I haven't done anything creative yet besides add the occasional St. in front of my name for Halloween in honor of St. Joan. I work at a Catholic Hospital with floors named after saints and did campaign unsuccessfully to have our new fifth floor named after me. I mean named after her.
I should take a middle name of something I love......mushroom, blue, chocolate, avocado, muenster, maple butter, Johns Island tomatoes, tea, braised lamb. Let's make a drool causing name. Joan Maple Butter Perry?
I've decided. Caprese. I have been eating armfuls of fresh tomatoes this summer cut up with melt in the mouth buffalo mozzarella, fresh chopped basil leaves, a drizzle of olive oil and reduced balsamic. I eat it at home. I order it in every restaurant that mentions it. I slice it perfectly, I chop it madly. I use red tomatoes, orange, green and cherry.
Capreeeesay. You have to say it like an Italian and wave your arms to make the name flow.
Joan Caprese Perry. JCP for my monogram. Hint, hint.
When next you order insalata caprese, please say, "Hey! I know the lady who was named after that salad!"
17 comments:
Yummy and funny, you crack me up. Sally
Salleeeeeeeeeee! :))
When Elizabeth was a little thing ( ? 3 years ) she named me Sour Flower. It didn't stick. She still calls me that at times and laughs. Sally
Awesome middle name choice! I'm daughter #3 of 4 and my oldest sister didn't get a middle name... and the other 3 of us got my mom's middle name... Anne... why in the world they didn't go back and give that middle name to Karen, I will never know... and as far as Caprese goes... yum... and have you gotten the tomato & moz sandwich from the Bull Street Gourmet? it's pretty darn yummy!
The Sour Flower was her effort to give me a middle name. On the Salleeeeee, I always liked the soft form of my name that the Khasi's gave it. One neigbour tot, called me Lee for a while....I liked it but it didn't stick. Not very many Sallys in my age group, so I'll be a one and only when I move in to a Nursing Home. Unlike all the Jeans and Marys and Johns and Margarets we have. Off to work I go. Sally
That salad looks delicious! And I applaud your choice of names.
Sally - Sour Flower. Love it. This is the first I've heard of this. New business cards for you!
Anon - Putting Bull St. Gourmet on my list. Yum.
There are no new Joans either. I say I am The Last of the Joans.
I don't know if you're open to suggestions, but I would love a review and photography of Sugar...the bakery on Cannon St.
Excellent choice - anything with mozzarella in it has got to be divine - so you are still within your original thinking, St. Joan.
That tomato and cheese sandwich is truly a southern delight....so I hear!
Capreeeeese ! Sounds great :)
I thought of changing my spelling of "Judy" to Judi but then reverted back...and still go by my nick of Sunny,lol!
I do have a middle name, but I could hyphenate my last name with -Ghirardelli . . .
intelliwench - Now we are talking! And everyone would understand.
Sunny - I like "Sunny". Works for you.
Anon - Sugar! Will get it. Thanks for the tip. I knew someone had made a suggestion and couldn't find the comment.
I think we are exactly the same person! aha! JCP
... P.S. thanks for the helicopter its amazing!
Oh good! I hope it flies. I only had kids so I could keep buying toys and they grew up on me and left home. Darn it.
On the basis of an info.seen earlier through some source,I had assumed that the Perry clans of North America were originally of Ireland.All the more because of place names in Ireland with words like Derry,Kerry,etc.,and so many more ending with the alphabet Y.
It's such a coincidence that a family of Scottish descendants made a home in a place referred to as "The Scotland of the East."Do you know that the Welsh too find parts of the J & K Hills like Wales.I think,they found the Jaintia Hills to be so.As children,we crossed the J hills often to go to and fro Haflong,our hometown in Assam.It was beautiful.Now it's almost bare of the pine trees.Ugly coal dumps are seen beside the highway.These remind me of the title of the book "How Green Was My Valley".Perhaps written by A.J.Cronin.Shillong too is now bereft of plenty of trees and grass.Concrete houses, unlike the cosy looking cottages have mushroomed.But it's still better than other N-E places. Namrata
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